Fulcrum Biometrics has lifted the curtain on the FbF MobileOne biometric accessory that was specially built for the iPod touch, where it will turn that hugely popular portable media player into a fingerprint scanner which is capable of sending data over to wireless networks, with the option to store it locally on the device. The whole point of this? For use with governmental, law enforcement and medical systems. The MobileOne accessory will sport a silicon fingerprint module which is capable of reading fingerprints to the FIPS-201/PIV standard, a standard that has seen wide acceptance in government programs. Said accessory will plug into the 30-pin connector on the iPod touch to get going, where captured fingerprints can be matched to the local database, or if the situation arises, forwarded to a remote host.

I can just imagine cops going around fingerprinting suspects at a crime scene to make sure there aren’t anyone on the Wanted list who will escape their watch by accident. Compatible with 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch models as well, the application will need to run on iOS 4.0 or later, and will not be able to function without the hardware accessory.

The MobileOne device will retail at $600 – you will need to supply the iPod touch yourself, although the companion app is free.